IMO, the terms "fundamentalism" or "fundamentalist" applied broadly to any and all religions is meaningless. What that term means depends of the "fundamentals" of the religion in question.
Seems to me that they both matter. Sure, different religions have different fundamentals. That's a difference AMONG religions. But WITHIN A RELIGION, there is another difference--the one between fundamentalists, who are defined by their strict commitment to some handed down religious law and those who are flexible about their tenets. You are conflating the intra-religion variation, the one defined by the absolutism continuum, and the variations between religions. One is a variation in kind and one a variation in degree. Looking at each is useful. Conflating them is neither useful nor apt.
The only purpose in purporting to compare "fundamentalist" Christian "religions" to "funadamentalist" Islam is to neutralize the latter and make it appear less threatening to the masses, while at the same time, heightening negative perceptions of the Christian fundamentalists.
I don't question that some might have that purpose. I wouldn't be surprised if Rosie had that purpose. It's even possible that this particular show has that purpose. But it's not the ONLY purpose as you claim. If you think that it's the only purpose, then you will damn this particular show unseen. And you will probably see that purpose in it even it it's not there.
Another purpose, one that I value, is to explore the history of Christianity and see how it has changed and become tamed, more varied, and less absolute over the centuries thus enabling the kind of liberal democracy we in the West gratefully inhabit. That gives us insights into how Islam might evolve or ways that we might prod it. Insight is a great tool to have in the toolkit. Willful ignorance is not.
The problem here is not a lapse in "critical thinking" by the targets of the pieces. The problem, imo, is a lack of "critical analysis" by the targets of the brain-washing.
There is enough lack of critical thinking to go around. Two wrongs don't make a right. |
